Milpa, a Long-Standing Polyculture for Sustainable Agriculture

Cecilio Mota-Cruz (), Alejandro Casas (), Rafael Ortega-Paczka, Hugo Perales, Ernesto Vega-Peña and Robert Bye
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Cecilio Mota-Cruz: Posgrado en Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Unidad de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
Alejandro Casas: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacán, Mexico
Rafael Ortega-Paczka: Departamento de Agroecología, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Carretera Federal México-Texcoco Km 38.5, El Cooperativo 56230, Texcoco, Mexico
Hugo Perales: Departamento de Agricultura, Sociedad y Ambiente, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad San Cristóbal de las Casas, Periférico Sur s/n, Maria Auxiliadora, San Cristóbal de las Casas 29290, Chiapas, Mexico
Ernesto Vega-Peña: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacán, Mexico
Robert Bye: Jardín Botánico-Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 16, 1-36

Abstract: Polyculture, or intercropping, is the practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously in time and space. The milpa is a systematic polyculture involving the simultaneous cultivation of maize ( Zea mays ), beans ( Phaseolus spp.), squash ( Cucurbita spp.), and other crops. Milpa polyculture initially emerged in the Mesoamerican region (Mexico and Central America) through the concurrent processes of managing, utilizing, and domesticating its constituent crops. It subsequently spread throughout the Americas via the diffusion of maize and the convergence of its domestication with that of its companion crops and other domesticated plants in the continent. Mesoamerican farmers made an outstanding contribution by domesticating and bringing together crops with contrasting morphological and physiological traits that are ecologically, agronomically, and nutritionally complementary. Despite its importance, few quantitative evaluations of this polyculture exist. However, these evaluations indicate that its productivity and land efficiency use (Land equivalent ratio = 1.34) are comparable to those of other intercrops studied on a global scale. We emphasize the importance of transdisciplinary efforts to study this polyculture and highlight its potential applications related to ecological interactions, plant microbiomes and breeding in order to reach sustainable production goals.

Keywords: three sisters; agrobiodiversity; agro-ecology; domestication; complementarity; traditional food systems; intercropping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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